Question

    Why do we laugh and get amusement from so many different things, from puns(双关语) to pratfalls(出洋相)? Why are things funny to some people and not to other? How is it that while a successful joke can cause pleasure, a sick one can cause serious harm?

Over the centuries, various scholars have tried to produce a universally agreed-upon theory of humor. Plato and Aristotle introduced the superiority theory, the idea that people laugh at the misfortune of others. Their theory seems to explain teasing, but it doesn't work well for knock-knock jokes. Sigmund Freud argued for his relief theory, the concept that humor is a way for people to release psychological tension and reveal their inner fears and desires. His theory works well for dirty jokes, less well for most puns.

The majority of humor experts today agree with the incongruity(不和谐) theory, the idea that humor arises when there's a gap between what people expect to happen and what actually happens. Incongruity has a lot going for it-jokes with unexpected funny lines, for example, fit well. But scientists have found that in comedy, unexpectedness is overvalued.

With the goal of developing a new, more satisfactory explanation, I produced “the gentle violation(侵犯) theory”, the idea that humor arises when something seems wrong or threatening, but is actually OK or safe. A dirty joke, for example, trades on moral or social violations, but it's only going to get a laugh if the person listening is open enough to consider the subject OK to talk about. Similarly, puns can be seen as linguistic violations that still make grammatical sense.

And while most humor theories have struggled to explain tickling (挠痒痒),or just avoided the phenomenon altogether, my theory accounts for even this kind of laughter. Tickling involves violating someone's physical space in a gentle way. People can't tickle themselves - because it isn't a violation.

1.What is the author's attitude towards Plato and Aristotle's theory?

A.Approving. B.Critical.

C.Unconcerned. D.Uncertain.

2.According to Sigmund Freud's theory, we can infer that ___________.

A.people will laugh when they see others suffer

B.tickling doesn't involve psychological tension

C.unexpectedness can explain how humor works

D.telling dirty jokes is a relief of one's nervous feelings

3.According to the author, why are some things funny to some people but not to others?

A.Because the sense of humor varies greatly from person to person.

B.Because people have different expectations for the same thing.

C.Because some people lack the sense of safety deep in their heart.

D.Because people's understanding of violation is different.

4.What is the author's main purpose of writing this passage?

A.To draw people's attention to the research of humor.

B.To criticize people's misunderstandings about humor.

C.To explain what exactly causes people to laugh.

D.To prove the sense of humor can be developed.

Answer

1.B

2.D

3.D

4.C

【解析】

这是一篇说明文。一个笑话会让有的人捧腹大笑，而有的人却没有反应，甚至会心生恼怒，为什么人们的反应会有所不同呢？作者认为这是由于人们的文化程度不同，理解程度不同，以及人们内心接受的程度不同决定的。在本文中作者对此现象进行了分析，提出了几种不同的理论。

1.推理判断题。根据第二段中Their theory seems to explain teasing, but it doesn't work well for knock-knock jokes.可知他们的理论似乎能解释戏弄人的行为，但却不适用于敲门笑话。由此可推知，作者对Plato和Aristotle的理论是持批判态度的，故选B。

2.推理判断题。根据第二段中Sigmund Freud argued for his relief theory, the concept that humor is a way for people to release psychological tension and reveal their inner fears and desires. His theory works well for dirty jokes, less well for most puns.可知Sigmund Freud提出了他的“解脱论”，认为幽默是人们释放心理紧张、揭示内心恐惧和欲望的一种方式。他的理论适用于下流的笑话，但不适用于大多数双关语。由此可推知，根据Sigmund Freud的理论，可知下流的笑话可以缓解一个人的紧张情绪。故选D。

3.细节理解题。根据第四段中A dirty joke, for example, trades on moral or social violations, but it's only going to get a laugh if the person listening is open enough to consider the subject OK to talk about.可知例如，一个下流笑话利用了道德或社会上的违规行为，但只有当听者足够开放地考虑可以谈论的话题时，才会获得笑声。由此可知，人们对笑话的不同反应是由人们的思想开放程度和文学素养决定的，换句话说也就是由一个人不同的理解认识程度决定的，故选D。

4.推理判断题。根据文第一段Why do we laugh and get amusement from so many different things, from puns to pratfalls? Why are things funny to some people and not to other? How is it that while a successful joke can cause pleasure, a sick one can cause serious harm?可知为什么我们会从这么多不同的事情中获得乐趣，从双关语到摔跤？为什么事情对一些人来说是有趣的而对另一些人却不是？一个成功的笑话怎么能带来快乐，一个不成功的笑话怎么能带来严重的伤害呢？结合文章主要对人们为何会发笑的现象进行了分析，并提出了几种理论。由此可推知，作者写这篇文章的主要目的是解释到底是什么让人们发笑。故选C。